Sunlight
by moonlightrurouni
Summary: Looking outward to the sea, her hand tightens around the single daffodil flower she had 'borrowed' from the infuriatingly feminine flower shop from some street whose name she cannot seem to recall. Quite frankly she doesn't really care. Stupid! Completely, utterly, incredibly foolish of her to even consider stealing-borrowing-that…that thing for him! (Rated because I'm paranoid)


**Hey guys! So first of all, I'd like to welcome you all to the newest installment to the 'Sing for Me' series. For those who don't know, 'Sing for Me' is a multi-fandom, multi-pairing series of one-shots based off a song. **

**Secondly: this ship. Dear, sweet, mother of Madara, Aizen, Zeus, and Shinigami-sama above, this ship. I ship these to quite shamefully, ever since Karai's first appearance. Good Aizen, my best friend says I'm quite terribly obsessed. I'm pretty sure she's right.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! **

***Note* This one-shot is based off the events of episode 20. Just saying. But worry not, spoilers are minimal. (I think)**

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**Song: She is the Sunlight**

**Artist: Trading Yesterday**

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_~If all the flowers faded away. And if all the storm clouds decided to stay  
Then you would find me each hour the same. He is tomorrow and I am today~_

Karai watches from her perch on top of the metal roof of the storage house. Her father had already returned to their base, along with the rest of the weaponry that had come along with the shipment of goods. The wind is to her back, and the sun is setting on the horizon. Looking outward to the sea, her hand tightens around the single daffodil flower she had 'borrowed' from the infuriatingly feminine flower shop from some street whose name she cannot seem to recall. Quite frankly she doesn't really care. Stupid! Completely, utterly, incredibly foolish of her to even consider stealing-_borrowing_-that…that thing for him!

Throwing the blossom to the ground, she crushes it coldly under her foot. The yellow petals quickly fold and crumble. The kunochi will never admit it, but for a split second she regrets crushing the daffodil, but the thought is subsequently replaced by her anger that the boy who betrayed her trust. She had called for a truce, and he had agreed! A TRUCE! How could he?! She thought that he was better than that!

Beside her the brain shaped alien shrieks, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Shut up, or do you want me to kill you slowly and painfully?" She snaps at it, and it freezes. Probably because of the killing intent she accidentally releases, rather than it actually understanding what she's saying. Sighing in frustration, Karai reins the utter turmoil that she is feeling, all cause by that _boy_.

'Boy? A boy wouldn't have tried to double-cross the girl he was smitten for.' A tiny voice whispers to her at the back of her head. Karai proceeds to stamp out its existence immediately. "Please, he's _still_ smitten for me." She grumbles to herself. A split second later, she feels tempted to commit seppuku, despite being a kunoichi rather than samurai. What was she thinking?! Even to herself, she sounds like a self-absorbed brat on a playground, gossiping on how many people she can get to like her! It's shameful! She is her father's second-in-command! The deadliest weapon in his arsenal!

'And yet you cannot seem to eliminate a certain boy from your thoughts or life.' The same snide voice from before murmurs.

Gritting her teeth, Karai allows herself a rare moment of weakness, and screeches in frustration. "AHO!"

She isn't quite sure if she's talking about him, or herself.

_~And if right is leaving I'd rather be wrong. He is the sunlight and the sun is gone~_

When she arrives back at her father's base, it is already quite late. Karai resolves to have a quick nap, (proper sleep is for weaklings. Besides, she has better things to do than wander around the land of dreams) then she will attend to the other things that have been occupying her mind. Automatically she goes into 'prioritizing' mode. Firstly, she would do her daily inventory of weaponry. Then she would do any polishing, tempering, or sharpening-the general care of her weapons, including her beloved tanto. After that, she'd snag that shoulder missile launcher and-

Karai almost slaps herself. As a matter of fact, if it weren't for the Foot clan members that are at the sides of the hall, she would have. Probably. Maybe. Showing visible signs of weakness aren't her thing, and that scream she had allowed herself was the most she's allowing herself for at least a month. Besides, if she looked weak, her father would get wind of it without a doubt. Not exactly something she'd look forwards to.

However, that would be quite welcome in comparison to the shameful thoughts running through her head at the present moment. That's right. The whole "let's team up so that we can prevent an alien invasion' kind of blew up in her face. There wasn't going to be a 'tommorow' with them. There was only today, and today was a day where it would be 'like-father-like-daughter'.

The kunoichi starts slightly as she realizes she has already made her way to her sleeping quarters. Our of the corner of her eye, the skyline of New York stretches out before her, and she sees four specks leap from roof top to roof top. Or perhaps she's imagining things. Regardless, a wave of intense hatred swells in her chest as the blue masked boy's face appears in her mind. Screw her past irritation towards her father's single-minded vendetta. After what has happened today, she's more than willing to help out with bringing them down.

Suddenly, her eyes widen in surprise, a realization that had just hit her completely washing away the previous emotion. Is…could this be what had caused his face to twist in that way in the Kraang's laboratory? Shaking her head in an attempt to clear it, she breezes into her room, abruptly aware of the curious gazes she's attracted from her fellow clan members.

Why was she thinking about such trivial things now? What was in the past is in the past. Reflecting on it would not do anything for her; aside from prevent her from thinking straight for a few hours. This time, Karai barely catches herself before her own hand can make contact with her cheek. "I need to clear my head.." She grumbles to herself. Unceremoniously, she dumps all her weapons onto her futon, as well as the brain that is tied by its legs. On second thought, Karai grabs it, marches out of her room. It makes pitiful noises as she handles it roughly.

"You there," She snaps at the nearest nin, throwing the Kraang at him brusquely. "take care of that and make sure it does not escape. Am I clear?" she asks. The nin snaps to attention, and bows deeply to her.

"Hai taicho!" He says, and she grins at him with faked affection before swaggering off.

The minute she makes it off to the rooftops of the city, the façade falls, and she sighs in exhaustion and frustration.

'What's wrong Karai? Wondering if leaving him to his own devices against that mutated mess was a bad decision?'

_Stupid voice_, Karai thinks, _of course it wasn't_. Although it isn't particularly cold, Karai shivers.

_~If loving him is a heartache for me. And if holding him means that I have to bleed  
Then I am the martyr and love is to blame: He is the healing and I am the pain  
He lives in a daydream where I don't belong. He is the sunlight and the sun is gone~_

Sitting on the edge of the building's rooftop, she looks down at the empty ally, her eyes sweeping across its length repeatedly. Several times, Karai catches herself gazing a second too long at the manhole cover where she had seen him emerge the second time she had met with him. A small twitch of her lips is the only visible sign of her fondness of her memory. Not that she had anything against smiling (smirking really). Smiling because of something a _boy_ had done for her. That was a different matter entirely.

So was the little voice claiming that her semantics were inaccurate. Fine. She'll admit it, he had grown wiser since the last she had seen him. He did not blindly trust her despite the fact she was, (indirectly?) his enemy, nor did he foolishly let his emotions cloud his judgment. Still. It didn't help her cope with the pesky and frustrating feeling quietly rolling in her chest, every time the manhole cover would hold her gaze.

It is completely and utterly out of her character to care this much about one person. Never in her life has anyone ever made her feel this level of emotional turmoil, much less a boy, (not man. She wouldn't think of him that way until he proves himself completely to her.) whose existence she was unaware of up until recently.

Thoughts piling up so high in her mind, Karai impulsively leaps down from her place on the building's ledge, grabbing a hold onto the fire escapes to slow down her descent. Landing neatly on her feet, she bends down to lift the cover when she stops herself.

Who is she kidding? Certainly not herself. Pursuing him would only cause him pain, and despite all of her training, she knows that she will be affected as well. How, she isn't sure. But she knows that if this rolling emotion in her chest is the aftereffect of his betrayal, and the leaping, bubbling and warm feeling was caused by his rescue; she doesn't want to get any more attached than she already is.

They live in completely different worlds. He's trying to prevent the world from falling into the grasps of the Kraang, rescue that girl's father, and protect his family from her father…and herself. Might as well add her own name to the list of 'People He Should Be Avoiding'. She is assisting in the plot that will ultimately be the demise of himself and those closest to him. What place does she have in a world where she cannot be the person she was molded to become since birth? Karai scowls at the manhole cover that stares up at her mockingly. It's true. She may want to chase him. But that doesn't mean she can.

_~And it will take this life of regret. For my heart to learn to forget  
Tomorrow will be as it always has been; And I will fall to him again  
For I know I've come too close~_

Karai glances up at the sky. Judging by the way the way the stars begin to dim, and her body clock, it's probably five, or five thirty by now. Much too late to have a proper nap, but just enough time for her to catch at least a half hour of rest before she's called to do her father's dirty work (Who ever said that ninja work exclusively at night? Appearances must be upheld, ne?). Turning and leaping across the roof tops, the kunoichi makes her way back to home base, her mind elsewhere.

However, she gets a rude awakening when a flock of birds bursts out of nowhere, catching her off guard. With a surprised yelp caught in her throat, Karai plummets to the ground.

"Karai-sama!"

A dark blur appears in the kunoichi's peripheral vision, and the next thing she knows, a Foot clan member has her in his arms, and is gently placing her down on the ground. Karai numbly stand up in shock, when a great rush of indignation, (and the realization that her 'cool and commanding' persona was about to crack) she whips out her tanto and holds it against his throat. "What do you think you're doing?" She hisses dangerously. Immediately he backs off, fear clear in his body language.

"Moushiwake gozaimasu, Karai-sama! I meant no offence!"

Karai 'tch's, and sheaths her blade. "I am capable of looking after myself. Remember your rank, teme." She snaps, adding the insult on the end to compensate for her previous and uncharacteristic astonishment. Tossing her slightly disheveled hair out of her face, resumes her run across the rooftops, before reentering the building that she has been calling 'home'.

Making her way back to her room, she watches in sadistic amusement as the ninja whom she had given the alien was currently running around like a chicken with his head cut off. The Kraang had latched itself to his face, causing the man to run around in such a way that was embarrassing of his rank. Letting out a soft sigh of irritation and amusement, she finally enters her room, undressing swiftly.

Quickly changing into her sleeping yukata, (why she still bothers is beyond her. No, she wasn't homesick; that would be utterly ludicrous.) Karai brushes her unattended weapons to the side. _Kami-sama, forget it, _She thinks, burying her face into her pillow, _I'll take a twenty minute rest, and sharpen them after._ As sleep begins to dull her mind, Karai's eyes land on the weapon rack that hangs on the opposite side of the room. All of her personal weapons-most, gifts from her father's generals while she was growing up-are there, each placed neatly in their own place. It may be ridiculous, but she was quite attached to all of them, each of them a symbol of a milestone in her life.

At the top left was her first set of shruiken, given to her by Senju-san and his younger brother whom had crafted them specifically for her. They are all razor sharp despite age and lack of use. The ceremonial kunai that she had received from Namikaze-san when she was first declared a fully-fledged ninja. And just below that is the spot allocated for her beloved pair of tanto, given to her by Sarutobi-san, her unofficial 'jii-chan'. Sleep is effectively swept away when she realizes that it's no long a 'pair' of tanto. He had her other one. How could she have forgotten? She had thrown it at his head the day that mutated weed had attacked them. He probably still had it somewhere, in the underground of the city.

Rolling to face the opposite wall, Karai closes her eyes, and forces her body to relax. She should forget it shouldn't she. It's not like she'll ever get it back. In fact, it's unlikely they'll ever be on speaking terms again.

He was the student of her father's enemy. She was the daughter of the man who wanted to eradicate his family. They would never have worked. What was the phrase? 'Minu ga hana'. That was the one…

_~Cause if right is leaving I'd rather be wrong. He is the sunlight and the sun is gone~_

Karai isn't awake to notice how despite the optimistic forecast, the sun is barely able to break through the clouds hanging dolefully in the sky.

_~He is the sunlight and the sun is gone~_

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**Meanings of Japanese phrases:**

**Aho- Fool/simpleton**

**seppuku-traditional way for samurai to commit suicide, especially if the offence they've made is related to their honor. (essentially self-disembowelment)**

**nin- short for ninja**

**Hai- yes**

**Taicho- Captain**

**Futon-A Japanese quilted mattress rolled out on the floor for use as a bed.**

**"-sama"-Japanese honorific. Shows a high level of respect.**

**Moushiwake gozaimasu- extremely formal way to apologize**

**teme-Bastard**

**"-san"-Japanese honorific. Shows respect (can be seen as the equivalent of "Mr" or "Mrs")**

**Jii-chan- Short for 'ojii-chan' which means grandfather. (the "-chan" part indicates its more endearing than formal, as '-chan' is the more informal than '-san')**

**Tanto-Japanese blade, roughly 15-30cm in length (note: I don't actually know if Karai's weapon is a tanto, it could be a wakizashim (also a blade, except it's 30-60cm) for all I know, but I'm pretty sure it's one of the two,) **

**Minu ga hana- Japanese proverb. Translates into "Reality cannot compete with imagination"**

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**Phew! One of the things that I love so much about this fandom is the fact that they sprinkle in the odd Japanese word here and there. In example, in the very first episode, Leo's all like, 'onegaishimasu' when he faces off with Raph. Me being an anime nut, and knowing basic Japanese, I quietly flipped out a little because it's Leo. Speaking Japanese. It was awesome. **

**So what did you think? I always enjoy hearing feedback, so don't hesitate to hit the 'Review' button!**

**Ja ne!**

**-moony**


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